Protection Monitoring Report 16 Oct - 30 Nov 2016

Praxis released Protection Monitoring Report for the period from 16 October to 30 November 2016.

At the beginning of November the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs sent an Open Letter to international humanitarian and non-governmental organizations, stating that it was unacceptable that organizations provide food and NFI assistance in the centre or encourage migrants to reside outside designated asylum and reception centres, particularly on the territory of Belgrade. With the removal of Info Park hub at the end of October, and suspension of food distribution in Miksaliste following the Open Letter, food is now provided between the barracks only by organization Hot Food Idomeni, distributing 900 portions a day per lunch. In addition, there is no distribution of NFIs in the field, even though there is a great need for winter shoes and clothes in particular. Therefore, the humanitarian situation in Belgrade is more concerning than ever, with around 1,000 refugees and migrants sleeping rough in Belgrade central parks and barracks behind the Bus Station, several hundreds of them being unaccompanied minors, in extremely poor hygienic conditions, with almost no assistance provided. In addition, Hungary reduced the number of persons it admits to only 20 per day, weekends excluded. At the same time, the capacities of the asylum and reception centres in Serbia are almost full, including the capacities of AC Krnjaca which are overstretched.

Furthermore, following the Open Letter, at the beginning of November there was an attempt to relocate the refugees from the barracks, organized by the State. There was no force used during the attempted relocation and those who agreed to be relocated did so voluntarily. However, the attempted relocation took place in the middle of the night, without information about it being provided in advance. Refugees were not informed about it, some panicked and got injured trying to run away, while they were not told where they would be going. In regards to this, Praxis joined other international and local organizations and sent a joint letter to the Working Group for solving the problems of mixed migration flows of the GoS, offering continued support to the relocation process and giving suggestions to make the process more transparent and ensure that refugees’ rights are respected.

In the reporting period, Praxis provided a total of 2,272 refugees and migrants (new arrivals) with timely and adequate information (1,345 adults and 927 children). Out of this number, 1,137 persons, 50% of all informed refugees, were from Afghanistan (647 adults and 490 children), the same as in the previous period, with a great number of Afghan families arriving. A total of 266 beneficiaries we served were from Syria (almost 12%, 151 adults and 115 children), mainly families, significantly less than in the previous period. A total of 587 were from Iraq (26%, 315 adults and 272 children), mainly families, which is a significant increase. A total of 142 persons were from Pakistan (6%, almost all single males), while 140 beneficiaries (6%) from other countries, including Iran, Algeria, etc.